HELP! What can I do about this - a BMI of 23.9 which is acceptable or body fat of 25.9% which is not?

Also my waist to hip ratio is 0.9 which puts me in the high risk catagory. I was diagnosed with stage 2 hypertension 2 months ago and resolved to lose about a stone steadily. So I cut out salt and saturated fats and now walk 2 or 3 miles daily in the hope I could lower the bp on my own and avoid medicine - which I don't want. Despite all this effort I am gutted to find that my whopping waist measurement [36"] hasn't gone down at all and it gives me a waist to hip ratio of 0.9 - which puts me in a 'high risk category'. I had considered myself a fit and healthy 70 yrs old woman with a reasonably slim shape but obviously have become an apple - a Bramley more like! Could this [dangerous?] body fat round my waist be the cause of the hbp? Is there anything I can do?

[MikePollard]

Totally agree with bigleg.

You have available via the web all the information to counteract the nonsense of low fat/high carb that has, via the agri/pharma vested interests, got us to where we are now - as a society - fully informed re the various government guidelines and watching 'Big Body Squad' as entertainment.

[Hidden]

You both sound so reassuring I just hope/wish the doctors agree but I'm not too confident and we are expected to do as we are told by them, or pay the consequences. But I'm sure you are right about the agri/pharma vested interests. The cholesterol busting margarines are quite horrible so I will go back to my full cream milk and butter and just hope. I'd never even noticed how much my waist line had expanded - in my dreams I'm still a slim 29 yr old [I wish!]. When you are checked out by a nurse this dangerous visceral fat is never mentioned so presumably I've got a hell of a lot of it !

[MikePollard]

A good place to start to reassure yourself is Andreas Eenfeld's site:

dietdoctor.com/about

The Swedes have embraced the LCHF (low carb/high fat) way of life with enthusiasm!

[patch14]

I don't think you can go far wrong by following the diet your grandparents ate. All fresh, all natural and free of sprays!! Keep to fruit rather than juices, eat everything in moderation and keep away from manufactured food. Keep up the exercise (after all Granny had to walk everywhere - there were very few cars!) and best wishes to you

[Seahorse]

After the menopause my waist measurement increased. I reduced it by cutting out sugar and refined carbohydrates (white flour and pasta) and switched to wholemeal everything. Belly fat reduced really quickly. I wasn't overweight to start with - BMI of 23 but dropped a few pounds anyway. I didn't eat any low fat products as these tend to be loaded with sugar to improve the taste. Good luck.

[Penel]

Yes, the fat around your waist is an indication of your body's visceral fat.

Several years ago I had to give up eating any food with gluten in. This meant anything made from wheat flour, rye or barley. I also had to give up sugar. I lost a lot of weight and discovered I had a waist again. I went back to eating full fat after years of low fat, when I realised how much sugar there was in low fat food. My general health improved a great deal.

Giving up everything made with gluten may be a bit too extreme, unless you have to, but lowering your carbs and processed food has lots of benefits. Some people do have a problem with wheat, have a look on line for "Wheat Belly".

My latest BP and cholesterol readings ( at age 65) were below average. I wanted to tell my GP that my breakfast had been bacon and eggs fried in lard, but I didn't have the nerve. When my GP talks about 'healthy eating', I just nod and smile.

This is a good article from Scientific American looking at fat and carbohydrate research.

scientificamerican.com/arti...

Good luck with sorting out what works for you. My diet may be a bit more extreme than most.

[Aliwally]

I do agree about the carbs, and when I put on weight it goes straight on my stomach, but sometimes I think we get bombarded with our waist to hip ratios, percentage of what type of body fat, makes me wonder what part of our body will put us at " risk " next. The circumference of bingo wings perhaps?

[Penel in reply to Aliwally]

Celebrate the bingo wings!